Do you have a social media policy? No? Well, come get one. I am very pleased to announce two new Social Media Governance workshops this fall where we build a social media policy together. We ran one of these this spring and received great feedback, so we decided to expand. And this time, thanks to our sponsors and hosts, OpenText, ARMA Metro NYC , and Williams Mullen, attendance is free. But, spots are limited, so please register soon.

What is the Social Media Governance Workshop?

It’s a hand-on half day. It’s an interactive event where a small group of practitioners are lead through a series of presentations and exercises that teach them how to craft a social media governance policy and program. The workshop examines the business, legal, and technology issues related to social media use in the enterprise through real-world examples and use cases. It provides examples of how leading organizations have addressed social media governance issues and provides a forum for participants to discuss issues unique to their organizations.

Why Do We Need a Social Media Governance Program?

Social media has emerged as the next governance frontier for the enterprise. Employees at organizations large and small are using social media to conduct business – with or without the knowledge and support of their organization. Social media can bring many benefits but it also carries risks – especially if it is not formally legitimized and governed. At the same time, a heavy-handed approach to governance will simply frustrate users and diminish the value of the technology. Organizations need to take a balanced approach. This hands-on, practical workshop will teach practitioners how to help their organizations achieve balance in social media governance.

What You Will Take Away

Workshop participants will learn how to develop a social media governance policy and program at their organization that effectively balances business, cultural, legal, and technology requirements. Each workshop participant will leave the workshop with a social media policy template that they can continue to develop and customize for their organizations.

Topics covered include:

The technology behind social media and the challenge it represents

Typical use cases for social media in the enterprise

Organizational and cultural issues: how much governance is right for your organization

Legal and regulatory issues related to social media and how they affect your organization

I recently met the former CFO of Radian6, a social media monitoring company that was incubated and grown in New Brunswick, Canada, and we had a great discussion about the role that this kind of technology can play in developing, andvancing, and protecting a brand. He is the former CFO only because the company was recently acquired by SalesForce – an illuminating acquisition.

For those of you new to this technology, the basic idea is that it allows organizations to monitor social media such as Twitter and FaceBook for discussion of a company, its products, its marketing campaigns, and so on. Analytical tools and techniques help companies measure “sentiment” (i.e., do people like or hate your latest product?) and other trends that might be meaningful for sales, marketing, customer support and other purposes.

I recently had a personal encounter with social media monitoring. Last week I did a speaking engagement at an OpenText user group meeting. It was hosted by McDonald’s Corp. at their executive training facility, called “Hamburger University.” No, Hamburger University isn’t just a street name or euphamism for the training center – that is its actual name (see photo below for proof).

Hamburger University is part of McDonald’s campus-style headquarters west of Chicago. I stayed “on campus” at a Hyatt connected by a bridge over an idyllic pond (“Lake Fred”) to the training facility. It’s a beautiful location – 80 acres of lakes and trees and prairie-style architecture.

It was an great event – I presented an “Introduction to Information Governance,” and there were some detailed case studies from OpenText customers like Hyatt about how they are using their digital asset management, social media management, and other products.

Anyway, the morning of the event, I tweeted the following:

Shortly thereafter, the Hyatt tweeted the following, and I replied:

And the McDonald’s Corp tweeted the following, and I replied:

This is social media monitoring software at work, which is cool to see. But there is something even more remarkable happening here, as my friend and enterprise software marketing guru Sean Wilcox (EVP at IT.com) pointed out:

“Such a great way to connect more deeply with customers, partners etc. No wonder Oracle and SFDC are buying companies that help them do this. However, note that, even with all the automation, an individual with a sense of humor created the spark that made this memorable. Praise to the person who replied about Hamburgler.”

This is a great insight: although the technology enabled the interaction, it was the human spark that made it memorable.

We are working on a number of social media governance projects, so this lesson is useful. In some ways, enterprise social media has painted itself into a corner. On the one hand, a key part of its value proposition is its supposed “authenticity,” i.e, its ability to enable “real conversations” among employees, partners, and customers. On the other hand, creating and maintaining authenticity takes a lot of time and effort – too much for many leaders, subject matter experts and other folks with real jobs who might be tapped to represent your brand online. Clearly, any hope of sustaining a new kind of interaction between a brand and its market through social media cannot happen without automation that helps your people find the time to be focused, authentic, and memorable.

Panelist: Risky Business? Just take those old records off the shelf.

“Risky Business? – Just take those old records off the shelf! A panel of industry experts takes a fresh look at how applied Information Governance can mitigate risk and elevate business productivity through enhanced information management. ARMA International President Galina Datskovsky moderates a panel composed of e-discovery guru Ron Hedges, IG mavens Barclay Blair and Tamir Sigal, and RIM visionary Marcy Zweerinck”

Moderator: If You Don’t Need it, Delete it – Best Practices for a Defensible Deletion Program

Keynote: Information Governance: A New Opportunity for Records Managers

“Information Governance has a emerged as an exciting new concept for managing information – one that promises to at last marry records management, IT, legal, and business requirements into a holistic discipline with high-level executive support. Current challenges like “big data,” cloud computing, social media, and consumerization of IT all require a steady hand from from professionals who understand the delicate balancing act that is information governance. Records managers have a central role to play as this new world unfolds. In this dynamic keynote, learn how you can maximize the your value to the organization, focus on the new skills you need, and, above all, not take yourself so seriously!”

Workshop and Panel: Information Governance Policy Development

“We live in the Information Age, which has seen marvels in technology unimaginable only a short time ago, and consequent changes in human interaction. At no time in history have we so thoroughly documented our thoughts, decisions and actions, mostly by electronic means. Having access to this information can create significant benefits to companies, and also significant risks, if the information is not properly governed.This all-day forum will arm you with critical concepts and skills in two significant areas:

Electronic Discovery: Responding to requests for your company’s information in litigation and regulatory investigations can be painful – especially in an era where we are creating and storing more information than ever before. However, smart organizations can take advantage of key legal concepts have developed in case law that provides litigants and regulated entities with the means to significantly reduce this burden. Moreover, when used strategically, electronic information can provide profound advantages and drive early resolution of a case. During the eDiscovery portion of the forum, we will discuss these key legal concepts and provide practical advice on how to employ them.

Information Governance: Much of the pain of eDiscovery can be avoided if organizations take control of their information – before eDiscovery trouble strikes. Information Governance is a new framework for managing information in a way that not only reduces eDiscovery cost and pain, but can also help financial institutions run more efficiently and profitably. The Information Governance portion of the forum will introduce participants to this framework, then provide them with the opportunity to see the framework in action through interactive, real-world exercises focused on critical Information Governance issues such as litigation response protocols, email use, social media, and bring-your-own-device. Attendees will participate in policy development exercises that will provide them with a foundation for developing their institution’s own Information Governance policies.”

Keynote: The Role of the CIO in Information Governance

RSD European CIO Leaders Forum, Basel, Switzerland

May 11, 2012

Workshop: Social Media Governance

“The Social Media Governance workshop is a half-day interactive event where a small group of practitioners are lead through a series of presentations and exercises that teaches them how to craft a social media governance policy and program. The workshop examines the business, legal, and technology issues related to social media use in the enterprise through real-world examples and use cases. It provides examples of how leading organizations have addressed social media governance issues and provides a forum for participants to discuss issues unique to their organizations.”